


i'd give everything that i got for your love

by emilyrambles



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, F/F, Minor Lucas Friar/Riley Matthews, Princess AU, Prompt Fic, Rilaya, Tumblr Prompt, gmw, im so sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-03 03:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8694994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyrambles/pseuds/emilyrambles
Summary: Because she’s drowning in her twinkling blue eyes, and Maya is her lifeboat, her safety, her home from the madness of her life. But she’s also risky and dangerous and taboo.She knows what she must choose.For country, for family.





	

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr prompt: "Saw your rilaya oneshot on ao3, you should 100% write a oneshot where riley is a princess engaged to Lucas friar, a prince, but she falls in love with the kitchen girl, Maya. :)))))))" I've taken my own spin on this it's not quite the same as this request.
> 
> really tempted to continue this as a multi-chapter thing instead of this one shot, so let me know what you think and whether you like it and want to read more.

She knows the rules. She knows she has to follow them regardless of how she feels, or face the consequences.

That’s what being royalty takes.

But she also knows she can’t stay away. Because Maya Hart is too charming, and witty, and so _god damn_ beautiful, she can’t resist. She’s the Heavenly Virtues of _caritas_ and _benevolentia_ wrapped up into a perfect small package, a shining beacon compared to the Seven Deadly Sins that inhabit her world. She’s _magnetic_ to Riley, pure unadulterated _magic_ ; she feels that pull towards Maya deep within herself, through something she can’t explain fully, only just that she’s pretty sure they’re inevitable.

They belong together. She wonders, not for the first time and certainly not the last, what would happen if she isn’t a princess and Maya isn’t _the help_.

That’s what her family calls her anyway. (Riley likes to call her _peaches_.)

So screw her family, if they were going to stop her from being best friends with Maya. Not that she’d ever let them find out anyway. The thought of it makes her feel sick to her stomach.

“Riley? Are you listening?” her mother’s voice snaps her mind back into reality, away from the girl currently bent over and serving food onto her father’s plate. Damn. She really ought to be more careful.

“Yes maman.” she nods and drags her gaze away from where she had been transfixed- the splatter of freckles on Maya’s right collarbone. Maya might be the one obsessed with art, but Riley thinks she’s the real masterpiece. Maya brushes a lock of stray blonde hair out of her face and tucks it behind her ear, then looks up subtly at Riley and raises an eyebrow. A smirk slowly forms on her face and it takes everything Riley has to continue the conversation her mother had begun, and not smile back at her. She hasn’t been listening, but now, as she tunes into the ramble, the words shock her.

“Lucas will of course escort you-”

“Lucas is coming? Here?” Riley cuts across her mother as his name causes her heart to race, but for all the wrong reasons.

“Yes, Riley.” her mother sighs, not understanding her daughter’s lack of enthusiasm towards the prince. “He asked if he could meet you first, then you go to his father’s ball together. You know, as a couple.”

A metal spoon clatters loudly as it hits the floor. Both Riley and her mother jump in their seats; her father just waves his hand as Maya murmurs an apology to tell her not to worry. She refuses to look Riley in the eye as she picks up the spoon she dropped, and Riley’s heartrate starts to quicken. She knows Maya doesn’t react well whenever Lucas is mentioned, and well, she can understand why. His family is even more traditional in their views and disrespectful to anyone who doesn’t have money or shares a royal bloodline. Maya has neither of those things; to the Friar’s she’s not even worth two minutes of their time. Thirty seconds if she’s lucky, and those are likely to only come from Lucas.

Riley supposes she’s lucky in that way. Her parents are possibly the kindest and most liberal rulers this country has seen in a long time, and they treat the servants with as much respect as possible. It’s Riley’s extended family that call Maya _the help_ , amongst other disgusting names. Riley really enjoys making them feel uncomfortable at family gatherings. It’s one of the only pastimes she looks forward to. Nowadays she doesn’t seem to have much to enjoy.

“Do you have a problem with that? I thought you liked Lucas?” her mother says, and shakes her head to a servant offering her seconds. “No thank you, Marcel.” He nods and starts to clear away her plate. Maya stays hovering behind Riley like always.

“I do like Lucas. He’s… nice.” she has to say something, because she knows exactly what her mother is doing. She’s just turned eighteen, and the public have started to speak of her lack of suitors. It’s not that she doesn’t have them, a lot of men have come from far away to try and woo her, but she’s always politely declined their advances. None of them seemed… right. They didn’t click. She wants the kind of love that fits like a key into a lock.

Maya brushes her hand over Riley’s shoulder to collect her empty bowl. The gentle touch sends bolts of lightning down her arm, raising the hairs and giving her goosebumps right down to her hands, and she clenches her jaw. _No_. Before she even has a chance to let those thoughts come to the surface, she represses them deep inside and rests her hands on her lap, clenching and unclenching them.

“Nice? The boy is practically a saint.” her father laughs and stands up from the table, and Riley and Topanga follow suit. Immediately, the servants begin clearing the rest of the table and Riley makes one last desperate attempt to catch Maya’s eye.

She’s still looking at the ground.

They leave the dining room, her parents blissfully unaware of her situation. Riley’s heart catches in her throat and she can barely focus on where her mother is taking her. _She’s upset._

 _It’s not your place to comfort her_ , the authoritative voice inside her head is ever ready to shut her down. But god, does she want it to be.

“He’s from a good family, he’s attractive, and most importantly he _likes_ you Riley.” Topanga gushes and grips Riley by the shoulders. Her father leans over and gives her a quick peck on the cheek, then leaves them to go into Riley’s bedroom together.

“I know maman.” Riley whispers, and she doesn’t have it in her to argue with her mother about this anymore. Her heart just feels heavy now, like someone’s attached an anchor to it and thrown it off the tallest tower. An anchor with the name _Maya_.

“Good. Because I really think you should give him a shot, darling. Who knows? You might grow to love him like I do your father.”

“Please stop.” She laughs weakly, pretending to be embarrassed at the thought of loving a man like her mother does to her father, but she knows that she’s not embarrassed. She’s ashamed. She’s keeping secrets from her mother, she’s disappointing her father, she’s upsetting Maya, she’s leading Lucas on. She can’t seem to do anything right.

“Okay, okay.” Topanga waves her hands and leads Riley to her dressing table. Riley looks at her quizzically, and especially becomes curious when she spots the crystallised jewellery box on top. That was not there when she left her room for dinner earlier.

“What’s in the box?” she asks, and her mother just grins and opens it slowly, revealing the most beautiful necklace Riley’s ever seen in her entire life. The diamond on the end sparkles like the brightest stars and the silver chain provides a stark light contrast to the crimson velvet interior of the box.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Topanga says and Riley watches it in awe as she lifts it out of the box. She approaches Riley and gestures for her to turn around. She practically almost falls over spinning to face the long mirror in front. She watches eagerly in the reflection as Topanga gently brushes Riley’s hair over one shoulder, and then clips the necklace around her neck. The tip of the diamond stops just before reaching the dip into Riley’s cleavage, and she opens her mouth in shock as she moves from side to side to watch the light reflect. Her mother clasps her hands to her chest and smiles, tears coming to her eyes. Riley stops swaying and turns around to her in panic.

“Are you okay?” she says, frowning.

“Yes honey. It’s just you look really lovely. My darling daughter, all grown up. Soon you won’t need your old dear mother.” Topanga barely has time to finish her sentence before Riley envelops her in a crushing hug. She laughs and pats Riley’s head, then pulls her closely, pressing a light kiss to Riley’s temple.

“I’ll always need you, maman. I love you.” Riley says it so strongly she almost feels like she’s swearing an oath.

“I love you too.” she whispers, and pulls away from the hug, wiping her eyes. “Did you know your father gave me that necklace when he escorted me to our very first ball?”

Suddenly, the necklace feels like a shackle around her neck, the weight of its history and implication dragging her down. That’s why her mother gave it to her. She appreciates the gesture, she truly does, but she can’t ever look at it in the same way again. The sparkle seems duller now, the light diminishing with every second that passes. She loves and admires her parent’s relationship. But that’s the whole point. It’s _their_ relationship, not hers. She can’t find love in the same way they did.

“That’s so sweet. Thank you so much.” Riley tries to sound enthusiastic and thankfully her mother seems to be satisfied. She gives Riley one last kiss goodnight, but just as she’s leaving her room she speaks once more.

“Oh hello Maya.”

At the mention of the name, Riley whips her head up so quickly she feels a crick in her neck. Her mother shuts the door as Maya squeezes through, nodding at her in acknowledgement of her greeting.

They stare at each other for three beats. For a brief second, Riley swears that time stops.

Maya is the first one to break the silence. She points at the necklace and Riley suddenly feels self-conscious wearing it. Just another reminder of the wealth Maya doesn’t have. “That’s a nice diamond.”

“Thanks. It’s my mother’s.” she says stiffly, the thoughts of the necklace’s history blaring like a siren behind her eyes.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Is it for the ball?” Maya asks the question casually, but the way she’s fidgeting with her hands and still not looking Riley directly in the eye reveals her true feelings.

“Yes.”

“I’m sure Lucas will like it.”

The mention of his name is a trigger for both of them. Maya seems to shrink into herself, becoming smaller and unsure of herself. Riley, on the other hand, becomes overwhelmed as all her thoughts and feelings about Maya and Lucas and _love_ wash and crash over her as waves hit the beach in a storm. Tears spring to her eyes and her cheeks flush with emotion. Maya finally drags her gaze up to meet Riley’s eyes, and for once Riley wishes she hadn’t. Because she’s drowning in her twinkling blue eyes, and Maya is her lifeboat, her safety, her home from the madness of her life. But she’s also risky and dangerous and taboo.

She knows what she must choose.

For country, for family.

(Her heart – which beats like a drum _maya maya maya_ – has no choice in the matter.)

Head over heart. That’s how a future monarch must rule.

Maya understands the decision that Riley comes to in the space of two rapid seconds and starts to take a step back. The distance between them is the cold hard truth. She’s already losing her.

“Maya-” Riley’s voice cracks and the tears start to fall as Maya clenches her jaw.

“Don’t. Don’t say it.” her voice is soft and gentle and so unbelievably pure Maya that Riley almost changes her mind. _Almost_.

“I can’t be with you.”

The words act as a slap to Maya, who reels backwards and hits the door in an attempt to distance herself further. To avoid getting hurt. Riley’s _hurting_ her. She feels sick, she feels like a monster.

“Riley…” she’s still trying to be gentle with her but she shouldn’t be, she should be yelling, screaming insults and hurling accusations at Riley like she deserves. She should be losing her god damn _shit_ at her. Anything hurts less than the tenderness.

“I have to be with him. Don’t you understand?” she wants to step closer to the girl she’s losing but her feet seem glued to the carpet. She’s petrified.

“That’s the thing, Riley. I do understand.” Maya says quietly and holds her head high to try and stop the tears that prickle in the corner of her eyes.

_Of course you do. God, you always do. You’re the most understanding and perfect person._

“Then why won’t you let me do this?”

“Because as long as I’m still breathing my heart belongs to you.”

It’s at that exact point Riley breaks.

Maya is fully crying now, the tears streaming down her face, but somehow she’s still so beautiful. Heartbreak, it seems, is a bewitching look on Maya. Not one that Riley would’ve liked to ever see. “I know you have to be with him, because he’s nice and rich and royalty and everything I’m not, but- but I thought there’s still a chance, you know? There’s a chance that this amazing girl stood in front of me might like me back, like me for me. But I guess I was wrong.” She spits out the last sentence in bitterness, and Riley almost feels like she’s choking on the air pressing in around her, punishing her for choosing wrong.

“I do Maya I do!” she cries and Maya flinches at the sudden volume. “I want to be with you so badly but I can’t! I have a- a duty.” She’s aware at how lame and stupid she sounds but the thoughts of losing everything she’s known in her entire life, what she was literally born to do, are ever present.

“Does your duty mean you can’t ever be happy?”

“I will be happy-”

“With _him_? Riley, you must know you’re lying to yourself.” Maya is practically hysterical now, laughing hollowly at Riley’s suggestion. She feels a sudden desire to defend her decision, defend Lucas, but she knows it’d just make this worse. Instead, she sighs slowly and gives Maya one last sad smile. It offers them both no comfort.

“I think you should go now Maya.” It’s Riley’s voice that seems too quiet, but anything louder than a whisper threatens to shatter the tense atmosphere of the room. Maya stares at her with a fierce expression on her face and Riley can’t help but compare her to a wounded deer, caught in the crosshairs. And Riley is the one pulling the trigger.

“Have a nice life with him Riley. You deserve it.”

And with one last painfully raw glance at her, Maya spins around and flees the room, leaving Riley stood in the aftermath of an emotional hurricane.

Later that night, after throwing her mother’s necklace hard across the room, she curls up in her bed and cries herself to sleep.

(Her heart still beats _maya maya maya-)_

**Author's Note:**

> follow me @ copsawyer.tumblr.com and talk to me about rilaya i love them or send your prompts.
> 
> many thanks to @forrestersflowers for the prompt and inspiring this fic. hope you liked it.


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